Researchers develop potentially safer general anesthetic
Monday, July 27, 2009 - 14:42
in Health & Medicine
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Harvard Medical School (HMS) researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has developed a new general anesthetic that may be safer for critically ill patients. In the August issue of Anesthesiology, they describe preclinical studies of the drug called MOC-etomidate - a chemically altered version of an existing anesthetic - which does not cause the sudden drop in blood pressure seen with most anesthetics or prolonged suppression of adrenal gland activity, a problem with the original version of the drug.